Conventional skates, whether they are ice skates or in-line (wheeled) skates, generally include a boot and a blade or wheels rigidly attached to the bottom of the boot by way of a frame (i.e. a blade frame or a wheel frame, as the case may be). The boot includes an upper portion for supporting a skater's ankle and foot, and a substantially flat footbed or sole for supporting the sole of a skater's foot. The upper portion of the boot, while quite rigid, allows a small amount of forward flex (i.e. forward ankle pivot, moving a skater's lower knee forward relative to the footbed), without which a skater would not be able to bend his or her knees significantly without falling backwards. The conventional footbed is designed and constructed to be rigid, holding the sole of the foot in a single plane. The blade of a conventional ice skate is usually constructed of a single piece of rigid stainless steel that is rigidly attached by way of a blade frame to the bottom of the footbed. Similarly, conventional in-line skates include a series of wheels aligned in a fixed plane and rigidly attached by way of a wheel frame to the bottom of the footbed. Just as there is no significant movement of a rigid ice skate blade relative to the footbed, there is no significant movement of in-line skate wheels relative to the footbed.
When in use, conventional skates hold a skater's foot stationary relative to the footbed. As a result, the fulcrum for a skater's calf muscle extension moves from its usual point at the ball of the foot to the tip of the blade in the case of an ice skate, or to the bottom of the front wheel in the case of an in-line skate. As well, conventional skates usually combine a significant heel lift (required to put the skater into a better skating posture), and a stiff and relatively inflexible boot, which first reduces the range of flex for calf muscle extension, and then severely restricts even that range. Thus, the design and rigidity of conventional skates leads to a number of limitations in skating technique and efficiency. Several biomechanical inefficiencies result. One biomechanical inefficiency relates to the rigidity with which the skater's foot and ankle are held, thereby disallowing the skater from taking full advantage of the strength of his or her calf muscle compared, for example, with the power that can be generated by a sprinter wearing running shoes. Another inefficiency relates to the fact that the range of movement possible for a skater's calf muscle extension is both limited and restricted. Another inefficiency relates to the requirement of a skater's calf muscle extension being translated through one fulcral point throughout any and all calf muscle extension. Another inefficiency results from the positioning of that fulcral point (i.e., anterior; at the tip of the blade or the bottom of the front wheel) which presents distinct disadvantages in any initial calf muscle extension.